X5 Sorachi Ace IPA | DuClaw Brewing Company

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Appearance is crystal clear yellow with a two finger head. Lots of carbonation.
Aroma is fermented grapes and rice wine.
Flavor is rice wine and soap. There's also a lingering aftertaste of fermented rice.
Mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing, the beer itself is the opposite.
So many odd flavors that aren't balanced at all.
Very odd beer.

22oz. bottle courtesy of cdmillard. Served in an SA Perfect Pint. Pours a honey-gold hue with a translucent clarity and a frothy, 1.5 inch, bright white colored head. Head settles into a solid, rocky mass that leaves textured clumps on lacing on the walls of the glass as the beer recedes. Nose expresses citrus and a fermented rice character. Taste is a bit off on this beer - similar to nose with the addition of a metallic quality, a hint of dill and a soapy character. Finish is not great - somewhat acrid and bitter, and not in a good way. Mouthfeel is light-medium with a crisp, lively carbonation. Not sure if this beer is past its prime, or just not good, but it's pretty awful.

22oz bottle received via Growling at the Moon. Thanks for the brew, Dan!

Poured into an imperial pint with a huge 4+"off-white head over the cloudy burnished golden brew. Head slowly returns to the liquid, but it's a long time before I can top off, with chunky lacing. Aroma is lightly spiced and soapy.

Taste starts with some citrus up front, spices in the middle, soapy and moderately bitter through the close. Mouthfeel is pretty smooth, and drinkability is okay as well. Kind of middle of the road on this one for me.

Bomber into a matching DuClaw pint glass. The brew appears a perfectly clear light gold color with a finger of off-whtie head. As the cap fades, it leaves some patches of lace sticking to the glass. Rising bubbles of carbonation maintain a thin film across the top throughout the entire duration.

The aroma includes toasty grain straight out the gate. A little bit of buttery diacetyl is noted as well as a bit of mineral content that isn't quite but almost comes across as sulfur. There is a faint fruity undertone that goes back to a bit of the initial lemon hop aspect mixed with herbs.

The taste is bitter with almost a perfume-like character from a combination of herbal bitterness, lemon essence and alcohol. There is a bit of buttery character in this coupled with some mineral/metallic character towards the back. The taste residing inside of my mouth is like you were dared to put a handfull of pocket change in your mouth and hold it for as long as possible. The bitterness of this is both earthy and herbal with an aftertaste that goes back to almost artificial lemony-like perfume. Only after this brew goes beyond ideal temperature does this start to feel "natural" and not as bad as I made it out to be when it was sampled colder.

This is a medium bodied brew with a moderate to lighter level of carbonation that is soft on the tongue. At times, the sorachi hops showed themselves but there is a lot of other things going on in this brew that are distracting. I would not pay to have this again, it isn't that good of an ipa, let alone a showcase of a single hop variety.

Single finger head on a clear golden with sight crimson hue body. Very malty aroma with light citrus hops and rice. Flavor is very interesting. Fairly bitter overall opening dried pasta, pale malts, grains and floral hops. Medium body and moderate carbonation. A very unique beer. Not anything like I have had before. Not very drinkable but interesting to try once.

Pours a clear copper, with 2 fingers of rich bright-white head. This has a nice finger’s worth of robust flare-up to it when swirled, which soaps the sides of the glass with foamy swathes of lacing. The aroma smells of fresh grass, a touch of pine, lemon zest, and some underlying earthy bitterness. A tight sweetness gives the nose some firmness across the back. Those hops are on good display here in the nose, combining with the malts to give this a fresh and earthy twang in the nostrils.

The taste has a fresh and zesty bitterness that cuts across the tongue, with a bright smack of lemon tartness and a crisp neutral sweetness that balances this nicely across the back. This finishes with a dry and bitter earthiness that lingers on the tongue. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a slick creaminess across the back that then gathers itself forward and prickles the tongue with flavor. Alcohol is well hid.

This turned out nice and is one of the better showcases for the Sorachi Ace hops that I’ve come across lately. That combo of pale malt and rice really make the backbone of this, with a combination of crisp and creamy to the mouthfeel that really gives this an easy drinking nature. This is probably my favorite of the Exile Series so far.